CD Reviews

Best of all Candides in the worst of all possible selections

Cory | Virginia | 07/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was very humoured indeed by the Worst of All Possible Worlds song. I had never heard THAT one in the highlights before and it is very funny. The songs, famous or not, are all great. My favorites are the ones you never see on the highlights such as Martin's Laughing Song, El Dorado, and the Roulet song. Many of the tunes are repeated later in the operetta but to different words and slightly different arrangement which just added to the humour. Adolf Green is THE Pangloss. No one can compare to his talent he has with the handling of this character. The music is wonderful (of course it would be, it IS conducted by the composer). One of the best things you won't hear in any other recording (highlights or other) is the grand finale. Bernstein slows it down by about %50 to turn it into one of the most passionate songs in the entire thing. I very highly recommend this recording. I don't just hand out five star ratings either."

Operetta for the late 20th century

J. Enders | Darmstadt | 09/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bernstein's "Candide" is a funny operetta based on the famous novel by Voltaire. The story is about a young man (Candide, Jerry Hadley: superb!) who is about to marry a princess (Kunegonde: June Anderson, very solid performance) in his home country Westphalia. His philosophical teacher's (Pangloss, Adolphe Green: really funny) opinion is that the world is - as it is - the best of all possible worlds. But alas, all of Candide's beloved are killed when war breaks out. Fortunately, this doesn't mean the end for the cast, but a number of resurrections and strange happenings always connect the ways of the characters. Pangloss is executed later on, Candide escapes to Paris, meets his resurrected love (and a strange Old Lady, Christa Ludwig: great), they set sail to America, are separated, Candide finds El Dorado, where gold is everywhere, also in the sheep. On his way back to Europe, he meets a guy who resembles Pangloss but teaches the opposite (the worst of all possible worlds); when his ship sinks, Candide finds himself rowing in a boat with an illustrous round of kings and noblemen, pledging to a simple life and bursting into gambling when arriving in Venice. At the casino in Venice, Candide meets Kunegonde again, and they finally start a (not really completely happy) life. And this would not be a piece by Bernstein, if there was no appeal to the final peaceful good in mankind at the end.The ensemble is great - also the "supporting" characters: Kurt Ollmann, Nicolai Gedda, ... , the jokes superb, the orchestra transparent. However, the recording has one drawback: serious problems with the balance which are clearly a fault of the recording sound engineers. Nonetheless, this CD is very enjoyable. I should mention that there is also a video taken at a public (concertant) performance right after the recording of the CD which is peppered with funny comments and explanations."

Best Candide recording available!

J. Enders | 11/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Candide" got my vote for best musical work of the century in the Amazon survey, that's how much I love it and think it raises the bar for opera, operetta, and musical theatre. This recording is (FINALLY!) a comprehensive collection of almost all of the songs written for this show (there have been about a gazillion revisions in its history). I'm no June Anderson fan, but she does a competent job here, as does the rest of the cast (Christa Ludwig deserves special mention for her infectious, adorable Old Lady). I'd say get this album just because it presents a better picture of the full scope of this work than any of the other recordings out there."

Best of all possible Candide's

J. Enders | 06/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This piece has a sort of tragic history in that most every time it has been performed (on Broadway, in an opera house) it has faded away all too quickly. Maybe this CD will help change that trend. This is the last big piece of Bernstein's that he recorded (he never did "Wonderful Town"), and it's a triumph. To listen to it you'd never know that everybody (including the composer) was sick at some point of the recording and that many voices were dubbed in later. This is the singular work that brought me into the realm of what could be called "Leonard Bernstein Music", and most all of what I have found in other Bernstein music is in abundance here: catchy tunes, clever melodies, and harmonic genius--basically a lot of musical fun. It's a brilliant satire (which sticks surprisingly close to Voltaire's novel) in a recording which one critic dubbed "all glorious". The lyrics (by a great variety of writers including Richard Wilbur, Stephen Sondheim, Lillian Hellman, and Bernstein himself) are funny, sharp, and direct, and they're sung by some of the greatest voices in music. With the LSO and Choir in tow, this is one of the most delightful all-star recordings ever made. If anyone has any reservations about this piece whatsoever, forget them. The experience is more than well worth the price."

Bernstein's & America's great fusion of musical & opera

H. Newman | Sandston, VA USA | 01/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Complexity of book, vocal and musical composition, social commentary, and the fusion of all of these into one of the most satirical and witty works ever to have been created, probably makes this America's greatest musical. Some of the best creative spirits of the 20th C. contributed to this masterpiece. Through Bernstein's fantastic score, which contains the best of what might be found in both his works for the musical theater and his more "serious" works, we are able to peek into the minds of the great lyricists which worked alongside him. We see Lillian Hellman's ideas emerge in a counter-attack on the McCarthy period of her day (any questions?). A great and often misunderstood poet of the musical stage, John Latouche, is here with his wry humour and gift for insight into the American psyche. One of our great American poets, Richard Wilbur astounds, with his profound understanding of language, both its nuances and its musical quality. Dorothy Parker and Stephen Sondheim also contribute their prodigious talents for language to this super-intelligent, but also uproariously funny work. This is by far the best of all the recordings of Candide---including ALL of the pieces which evolved throughout its numerous reincarnations, many of which are often omitted from other recordings. Jerry Hadley and June Anderson take your breath away---all of the ensemble work together with Bernstein's guidance to make this one of the great recordings of the 20th C. You need this CD!"